Construction on the 11th Avenue – part of the City of Regina’s ongoing revitalization project for the area – is set to begin on Monday between Albert Street and Broad Street. The project to enhance the road, sidewalks, lighting, landscaping and underground infrastructure is now in its fourth year, and the city said it is approaching its final stages.

Read more:

• Regina mayor hopes for speedier work as another construction season looms
• Downtown Regina business says parking fee hike latest thing to weather
• Regina Mayor Chad Bachynski excited to see 11th Avenue reopening

“The 11th Avenue Revitalization Project is a key part of the City Centre Revitalization Plan to create a walkable, welcoming and safe city centre that attracts more people and businesses to live, work, visit and invest,” Chris Warren, Regina’s director of roadways and transportation, said in a statement.

“This project will modernize critical infrastructure while enhancing accessibility and supporting a vibrant downtown experience.”

During the 2026 phase of the project, the road will be closed between Scarth Street and Cornwall Street, beginning on Mon, April 6.

“As work progresses, closures will move west along 11th Avenue toward Albert Street, with crews completing underground utility upgrades and above ground road and sidewalk reconstruction,” the city explained in a statement.

“While the road will be closed or restricted to vehicles, pedestrian and business access will remain open, adjacent to the construction zone.”

The city said transit will return to 11th Avenue once work is completed.

Some businesses along 11th Avenue have struggled during long periods of construction in previous years.

“We just spend our winters trying to save money to pay for the summer. It’s rough,” said Kelly Cairns, an owner of The Cure.

Last month, Chad Bachynski said he learned a lot about construction in his first year as the city’s mayor.

“Twenty-four-hour construction across the board is likely not feasible,” he said at a council meeting. “But I know there’s some good work happening, and I want to build on that.”

Bachynski said he understood there were some frustrations with sidewalk closures and said the city will use that feedback when planning out closures during this year’s construction season.

Chris Warren, Regina’s director of roadways and transportation, said construction would begin between those blocks with finishing the northern sidewalk and smoothing out the roads pavement.

Between Lorne Street and Albert Street, he said underground infrastructure will be updated. Trees will be planted along Scarth Street and Broad Street earlier in the year.

Warren said the section between Cornwall Street and Albert Street was one of the most difficult to complete, last year.

“We know the next phase between Cornwall and Albert Street is not as complex but we’ll still have some issues into that, details that we have to work through,” he said. “But we’re hoping to use our experience from last year to improve upon this year’s season.”

The latest updates on traffic restrictions associated with the revitalization, along with renderings of the completed project, can be found on the City of Regina’s website.

–with files from 980 CJME’s Gillian Massie

"As of today, you can resume normal water use," Michael Thompson, Calgary’s general manager for infrastructure services announced Thursday, less than four weeks after the voluntary restrictions began on March 9.

"Recreation facilities are returning to normal operations. Hot tubs and kiddie pools are being refilled and will reopen as soon as they are ready."

Residents had been urged to take shorter showers and reduce toilet flushes, laundry and dishwasher loads. The city also banned outdoor water use.

The restrictions were due to the shutdown of the Bearspaw South Feeder Main, which provides 60 per cent of treated water for the 1.6 million residents of Calgary along with municipalities on its boundaries and the Tsuut’ina Nation.

Residents were asked to voluntarily cut water use to keep enough in reserve for emergencies such as fighting fires.

Thompson said there were emergencies but, because people cut back on water, crews were able to handle them.

"I know it wasn't easy, but let me assure you, those actions mattered," Thompson said.

In the latest round of fixes to the pipe, Thompson said crews mended nine high-risk segments using steel and concrete while replacing subpar valves.

The main has a troubled recent history.

It ruptured in December for the second time in less than two years, spilling a torrent of frigid water onto a commuter road and leaving some drivers stranded. The line also failed in June 2024.

This was the third time the city imposed water use limits. It says the pipe is in poor condition and at risk of breaking again until a new one – now being constructed parallel to the current one -- is operational in December.

"We are not planning to reintroduce water restrictions until fall, when we'll shut this pipe down again to connect the new pipe," the city said in a news release. "But if another issue happens before then, we may need to bring back water restrictions sooner."

The water problem has grabbed the attention of Premier Danielle Smith’s government. Last month, the province ordered a sweeping third-party investigation into Calgary’s ongoing water main problems.

Municipal Affairs Minister Dan Williams has said the investigation is not political, even though it is expected to examine the actions and decisions of former Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi.

Nenshi is now leader of the Opposition NDP and the main opponent of Smith’s United Conservatives, with an election slated for next year. Smith has placed some of the blame for the water crisis on city council action when Nenshi was mayor.

The investigation will be headed by David Goldie, a former chair of Alberta’s energy regulator. Total cost is estimated at $1.2 million.

Goldie will have the power to compel documents and witnesses, similar to a public judicial inquiry, and is expected to report back on his findings by the fall.

Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas, who has promised the replacement line will be ready by the end of the year, said he supports the province’s inspection and will co-operate fully with the investigation.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 2, 2026.

Bill Graveland, The Canadian Press

The first two phases of the Des Neiges wind farm — the southern sector and the Charlevoix sector — will comprise a total of 114 turbines and generate 800 Megawatts of wind energy, enough to power 140,000 homes.

The project by Quebec's hydro utility, Boralex, and Énergir — the largest natural gas distributor in the province — is to be located on the grounds of the Séminaire de Québec in the Charlevoix region.

The third phase, if completed, will bring the farm's output to 1,200 Megawatts and contribute Hydro-Québec's goal of adding 10,000 MW of wind power to its current portfolio of 4,000 MW by 2035.

When the two first phases are ready, Hydro-Québec has agreed to pay developer Boralex and its partners less than 7.8 cents per kilowatt-hour, but the utility didn't want to release specific figures.

The Des Neiges south project is scheduled to come online by the end of 2027, while the Charlevoix sector is targeted for late 2028.

Quebec Premier François Legault was on hand for the launch and said, "If we act intelligently, the next century could be Quebec’s century from an economic standpoint."

“Energy is the most important global issue. Every country, including Donald Trump’s country, is seeking energy," he told reporters in Beaupré, Que., referring to the United States. "It’s a race currently taking place around the world."

About ten wind farms are currently under development across Quebec, noted Hydro-Québec president Claudine Bouchard.

Representatives from the Innu and Wendat communities attended the news conference and praised the initiative. Wendat Chief Pierre Picard spoke of a “respectful partnership process.”

The two phases will employ 500 workers during the construction period. The wind turbines will be 200 meters tall and have a capacity of 7 MW each. The area where the farm will be located covers 1,600 square kilometres.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 31, 2026.

Patrice Bergeron, The Canadian Press

He said he noticed the number of new buildings and housing going up in the neighbourhood and a "vibrancy," but he was still shocked at the beleaguered state of people in the troubled Vancouver neighbourhood.

His appointment by the provincial government in September was for a six-month term, but Housing Minister Christine Boyle said Tuesday that his contract would be extended to allow him to continue working to "address systemic challenges" in the Downtown Eastside.

Campbell said at a news conference Tuesday that he was shocked at the "normalcy" of people stepping over others sprawled on the sidewalk in the city's Downtown Eastside without anyone calling for help.

"I hadn't experienced that before," Campbell said. "In the past, if somebody was laying on a sidewalk, almost always a citizen or somebody would turn that person over, put them in a recovery position, and call for help."

He said he needs another six months to complete his work as a provincial adviser on how to improve life for people in impoverished neighbourhood.

Campbell, who's also the former chief coroner of B.C., said he thought he'd finish gathering information from people and organization in the first two months into the job.

"But it became rapidly clear that the numbers of organizations and groups and government organizations involved in the Downtown Eastside were way more than I had expected from my previous life," he said.

The number of service groups in the Downtown Eastside has grown "exponentially," but the problems of severe mental illness, addiction and inadequate housing are ever-present.

Campbell said the problem of brain damage suffered by addicts wasn't something he had seen before fentanyl and other mixed chemical drugs were introduced into the illicit supply.

He said there's a lot funding allocated to various support groups in the neighbourhood and he hopes that his report will spur "concrete" action on improving an area that has been rife with problems for decades.

"I've been looking at the organizations, both government and non-profits, and at the street level, there's an amazing co-ordination that goes on," he said. "But there's a certain amount of fragmentation that goes on. There's a lot of organizations and government that are overlapping."

He said some single-room occupancy buildings are in such a poor state that they "should not be lived in," and added that none of those residential buildings are safe for women, especially Indigenous women.

The neighbourhood has "changed dramatically" since he was mayor, Campbell said, but the problems around housing, addiction and mental illness are similar to what is happening in communities across the country.

"The Downtown Eastside is Canada. The Downtown Eastside is in everybody's community," he said. "What do we do? How do we help these people? How do we house them?"

Campbell said he hopes any report to the government coming out of his advisory work will spur "concrete action" rather than just be another report that's "just going to sit on a shelf."

"I certainly want to see some action on these things we're talking about, both the accountability in the Downtown Eastside, the coming together of governments, and the coming (together) of ministries to work toward making things different," he said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 31, 2026

Darryl Greer, The Canadian Press

Michael Thompson, Calgary's general manager of infrastructure services, says repairs on an ailing water main are in the final stages, allowing restrictions to be lifted as early as Thursday.

Crews have been working to reinforce nine sections of the Bearspaw South Feeder Main, which forced earlier rounds of restrictions after it ruptured in June 2024 and again in late December.

The main supplies 60 per cent of the treated water to the city's 1.6 million residents.

For the last three weeks, residents have been asked to take shorter showers, and reduce toilet flushes, laundry and dish loads.

Thompson says water is now being tested to make sure it is safe but says the pipe remains at risk until work on a permanent replacement is completed by the end of the year.

"Because the existing pipe is terminally ill, there's increased risk of another breaking during pressure changes in the pipe," Thompson told reporters Monday.

"The pipe can break without warning. We will be living with the risk that this existing pipe can break at any time."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 30, 2026.

Bill Graveland, The Canadian Press

Prime Minister Mark Carney and Premier Doug Ford joined Mayor Olivia Chow in Toronto to unveil a plan for the province and federal government to each spend $4.4 billion on housing-related infrastructure in the province over the next 10 years.

The funding deal is the first to be announced through the federal government's $51 billion Build Communities Strong Fund and is meant to help municipalities cut development charges, or DCs, by as much as 50 per cent for the next three years.

"If you don't cut DCs, you aren't getting any money," Ford said in a message to mayors across the province Monday.

"But if you do, we will be there to support you."

Municipal development charges are fees imposed by a city on a developer that usually help to build the infrastructure new housing developments need, such as transit, water or sewer systems. Experts warn these fees have ballooned in recent years, inflating the cost of homebuilding and making it harder to build much-needed supply.

David Amborski, director of the Centre for Urban Research and Land Development at Toronto Metropolitan University, said development charges became a convenient way for cities to expand services for their growing populations without irritating residents by increasing property taxes.

"If you have development charges, it's more of a hidden, indirect tax, and to some degree is imposed on people who may not even live in the jurisdiction yet. So politically, it's a safer way to go," he said.

Funding will be granted based on a list of projects suggested by a municipality and will be prioritized for high-growth cities where housing shortfalls are most acute. These municipalities will have to commit to cutting development charges by 30 to 50 per cent for three years in order to be eligible for money through this stream.

Because the funding will be doled out over 10 years, Carney said these agreements will spread out the burden of paying for infrastructure over time.

Ontario also unveiled a plan with the federal government last week to waive the harmonized sales tax on eligible new builds for the next year.

Taken together, the federal and Ontario governments estimate that these new agreements will save up to $200,000 in taxes and fees on the cost of a new home.

Both the Carney and Ford governments have set ambitious targets to rapidly scale up available housing supply over the coming years.

Nationally, housing starts rose 5.6 per cent annually in 2025, despite outright declines in Ontario, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. reported earlier this year.

But the agency said in its updated forecasts last month that it expects the national pace of construction to fall for the next three years amid high construction costs and weak buyer demand.

Ontario in particular — with some of the highest development charges in the country — faces construction headwinds, CMHC noted.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said in a social media post Monday that Canada needs "results not rhetoric" with the pace of homebuilding forecast to slow. He said he suggested incentivizing lower development charges and cutting taxes on homes years ago.

The Ontario Home Builders' Association hailed the federal-provincial partnership as "historic" in a media statement Monday and said that lower development charges will improve the viability of projects, as well as affordability.

Carney said he expects competitive forces in the market will push developers to pass on cost savings from the development charge relief to homebuyers.

Amborski said whether developers end up passing reduced costs on to homebuyers will depend on the state of the market when the policy is enacted.

If it's a hot market and home prices are rising, it's easy for a developer to turn a discount on input prices into a profit without turning away buyers, he said.

"If developers could charge $10,000 more because the market's going up, they're not going to reduce the cost — they're going to take a $10,000 profit," Amborski said.

But prices are falling in many local resale markets across Canada right now, Amborski pointed out. He said that cut in upfront costs can help convince buyers who are sitting on the sidelines that they can turn even a slim profit on a new build priced at what the market can bear.

Amborski said he wasn't sure whether the $8.8 billion on offer from Ottawa and the provinces will be sufficient to cut development charges in half. He also said there's no silver bullet for housing affordability right now.

"Bottom line is, it's got to help. It's got to help (with) reducing the cost of housing," he said.

The latest funding announcement comes a few days after Ottawa announced it was earmarking $1.7 billion for all provinces and territories to boost housing supply however they see fit.

Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne cited declining home prices and the need to encourage builders to break ground on new projects when he announced that funding last week.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 30, 2026.

Craig Lord, The Canadian Press

A statement from the provincial Crown utility says about 85 per cent of the camp will be relocated to multiple camp locations between Prince George and Terrace, across northern B.C.

As part of the nation-building project, the Prime Minister's Office says the North Coast Transmission Line will create thousands of direct full-time careers, generate millions in annual public revenues and become a clean-energy corridor to benefit B.C.

BC Hydro says construction on the line will begin in the summer, starting with clearing and access work along the project's right-of-way.

Site C on the Peace River in northeastern B.C. became fully operational last year, with construction of the dam having started in July 2015.

Energy Minister Adrian Dix applauded the move, saying repurposing the Site C camp not only prevents waste but also saves money and time.

"This outcome is a win-win for British Columbians," Dix said in the BC Hydro statement.

The Site C worker accommodation facility features 1,764 beds housed in 21 three-storey modular dormitories, and each dormitory has 84 rooms, which are complemented by amenities such as a central atrium lobby, kitchen, dining hall and lounge.

The Site C camp will cease operations on March 31, and the work to disassemble the existing camp and get ready for transport will begin later in the spring.

The first two phases of the North Coast Transmission Line would twin an existing power line running 450 kilometres from Prince George and Terrace, while the proposed third phase would create new transmission infrastructure, running 350 kilometres north of Terrace to Aiyansh and Bob Quinn Lake in northwestern B.C.

BC Hydro has said the project would more than double the existing electricity capacity in the region, and government last fall passed legislation to speed up the project.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 27, 2026.

The Canadian Press

The province is projecting just 64,800 housing starts this year — 10,000 fewer than it expected for this year in last year's budget and 30,000 fewer than the 2024 plan projected.

The government's own math early on in its bid to get 1.5 million homes built by 2031 showed that housing starts should be at 175,000 per year. That was a different time, said Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Rob Flack.

"It was a goal set in 2022 when we had robust housing starts," he said Thursday after the budget was tabled. "We don't today."

Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy last year referred to 1.5 million homes as a soft target, one of the first signals that the government was backing away from the goal it frequently touted in 2022.

On budget day, neither he nor Flack wanted to talk about it much.

"I'm not focused on the target," he said. "I'm focused on what we can do today to make it more affordable for people to own homes."

Flack espoused a similar message of affordability as a new goal.

"I don't wake up thinking about 1.5, I worry about getting homes built in the next two, three months," he said. "I think what you'll see in the months to come is the focus on getting costs down."

The government announced a temporarily expanded HST rebate on new homes in its budget and it hopes the measure spurs 8,000 new units. Home builders praised the move and said it would help get the sector moving, but they have also been calling for lowered fees, such as development charges.

The budget also says Ontario and the federal government are working on a program for municipalities to reduce development charges, which cities use to pay for housing-enabling infrastructure such as roads, sewers and water.

Housing has faced a lot of headwinds, from high inflation rates to rising construction costs and labour shortages, but critics say while the provincial government's goal was ambitious, its execution has been the opposite.

"They didn't have a plan, and ... they should have built the plane before they got in the air," Interim Liberal Leader John Fraser said. "In fairness, it's not an easy file. You don't have all the levers, but you've got to be realistic and tell people what you can do."

Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner said the government should be doing more to enable gentle density like multiplexes and mid-rise buildings and invest in deeply affordable, co-op and supportive housing.

"This government was elected on the promise of 1.5 million homes and is utterly failing to deliver," he wrote in a statement.

"Of course they’re trying to distract from that. Even if the HST rebate successfully spurs the construction of 8,000 homes, that’s a drop in the bucket compared to where we need to be."

The NDP has been advocating for a public builder to be established, though Flack definitively ruled that out.

"It's expensive to rent, it's hard to find a home to buy and homelessness is just going from bad to worse," said New Democrat housing critic Jessica Bell.

"We would have liked to have seen measures in this budget to get government back into the job of building housing, and we didn't see that."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 27, 2026.

Allison Jones, The Canadian Press

Carney and Premier Tim Houston announced the deal Friday after the prime minister delivered a brief speech to about 1,100 people at the Halifax Convention Centre, most of which focused on recent announcements about defence spending and public safety.

Before the two men started a private meeting at the downtown hall, Carney said the new agreement — dubbed the “one project, one review model”— is based on close co-operation with Nova Scotia.

"It means that we rely on each other, that we don't duplicate processes that the province is working through on major projects," Carney said. "And this is hugely important because it's an incredible time for the province."

The prime minister went on to cite Houston's ambitious plan for the Wind West project, which calls for building Canada's first offshore wind farms at an enormous scale. Carney also mentioned the development of offshore natural gas wells and "energizing" housing.

Houston beamed as he shook hands with the prime minister.

“I'm really excited about the energy opportunities for our country," the Progressive Conservative premier said. "I share your ambition for Canada to be an energy superpower. I think Nova Scotia can contribute in many ways, certainly with Wind West.”

Houston also mentioned recent wind energy agreements signed with Quebec and Massachusetts.

On Wednesday, Hydro-Québec said it has issued a formal request for information from energy developers to help it determine timelines and costs for building transmission lines to potentially connect Quebec's electricity grid with Nova Scotia’s proposed offshore wind farms.

Last month, Nova Scotia and Massachusetts reached a memorandum of understanding committing the two governments to share expertise as they develop their respective offshore wind sectors.

On Friday, the Nova Scotia government issued a statement saying the new, federal-provincial agreement on environmental assessments is aimed at removing duplication, shortening review times and increasing regulatory clarity. It said decisions on whether to use this one-review approach will be made by the province on a project-by-project basis.

The types of projects that typically need approvals from both levels of government include energy transmission lines that cross provincial boundaries, airports, marine terminals and ports, pipelines and some mining projects.

Houston also said he was excited about the prime minister’s recent announcements on defence spending.

On Thursday, Carney boarded a Royal Canadian Navy warship in Halifax harbour to announce $3 billion in new infrastructure and defence spending for Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Carney said Nova Scotia would receive more than $2 billion to modernize infrastructure, expand training and build facilities for new warships and aircraft. Most of that money — $1.2 billion — will be used to modernize infrastructure at Canadian Forces Base Halifax.

In New Brunswick, more than $1 billion has been set aside to improve the massive army base in southern New Brunswick known as the Gagetown Range and Training Area.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 27, 2026.

Michael MacDonald, The Canadian Press

The funding boost for home care is part of Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy's 2026 budget that projects a $13.8-billion deficit for the upcoming fiscal year.

But the budget released Thursday also lays out the stark reality of the province's ambitious goal to deliver 58,000 new or upgraded nursing home beds within two years.

As of February, the province said about 26,000 nursing home beds were "either open, under construction or approved to start construction."

Bethlenfalvy was asked if the province could still achieve its goal.

"Well, we're going to continue to try. We're ambitious here," he said. "We're going to keep building, and we'll get as far as we can because it's the right thing to do."

Long-Term Care Minister Natalia Kusendova-Bashta said she is optimistic the government will achieve its goal. She pointed to a capital funding program launched last year that has helped "unlock" a number of new builds.

Kusendova-Bashta also blamed the pandemic for "losing three years of construction."

"We have to give ourselves some grace," she said, adding the province will also announce more measures in the coming months to help spur construction, especially in the north.

She also said the boost in home care funding will alleviate pressure on nursing homes.

The money toward home care will roll out over the next three years. The province is investing about $6 billion total into home care in the next few years, Bethlenfalvy said.

"A part of our strategy for health care is to help people where they want to be taken care of," he said.

"I know many, many people who would prefer to age at home ... so we're transitioning to providing that home care."

The money will go toward hiring more nurses and personal support workers, with the goal of helping thousands more patients receive medical attention at home and providing some relief on overburdened hospitals and long-term care homes.

The new funds follow calls from some in the long-term care industry who wanted to see investment in home care and supportive housing for seniors as a way to help nursing homes, most of which have wait times of months or years.

AdvantAge Ontario, which represents the vast majority of municipal and non-profit nursing homes in Ontario, made the unusual request for more money for other related sectors and asked the government to invest at least $600 million into home care.

Long-term care operators have said the best way for people to get into care homes now is by going through the hospital first. That allows patients to be designated as in crisis, which gives them higher priority over others seeking a long-term care bed.

Data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information shows more than 50 per cent of long-term care admissions are people coming from a hospital, a 67 per cent jump from pre-pandemic levels.

The situation is particularly problematic in Toronto, which is down about 700 beds due to nursing home closures.

In 2019, the province said it would build 30,000 new long-term care beds within the next decade.

Then COVID-19 hit in early 2020, and the virus ripped through Ontario's long-term care homes, leaving thousands dead. Some homes were so badly hit they needed help from Canada's military to operate.

The stalled progress on the Progressive Conservatives' $6.4-billion long-term care plan leaves seniors in a bad spot, said interim Liberal leader John Fraser.

It's a lot of "big talk" from Ford with little action, Fraser said.

"They're pretending, they are not protecting," Fraser said, referring to the Ford government's "protecting Ontario" slogan that it has used since last year's election win.

"The Conservative government is behind on building the number of long-term care beds it said that it would build and that's really concerning," said NDP finance critic Jessica Bell.

"We've got an aging population in Ontario, loved ones need a good home for their parents to go into."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 26, 2026.

Liam Casey and Allison Jones, The Canadian Press